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MST3K 706 - Laserblast
The Movie Synopsis Alien creatures kill a mutated alien creature in the California desert. Its remains, and the high-tech laser gun and power source accidentally left behind, are found by an ostracized teenager. However, the power source causes the teenager to mutate, too, and he goes on a murderous rampage. Eventually, the first aliens return to kill him as well, and then forget to take the gun again. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077834/plotsummary Information * Roddy McDowall's name is misspelled in the ending credits as "Roddy McDowell". * This is the only film wherein Eddie Deezen plays a bully. In every other film he plays a (usually picked-on) nerdy character. * Alien conversation from the movie is used in the opening of "A Dios Alma Perdida" by Static-X. * Billy Duncan, literally armed with the laser cannon, blows up a Star Wars billboard late in the film. * The "East Coast, Southern California" town depicted in the final scene is actually a left over 1920's Chicago set. Note the "S.M.C. Cartage Co." building in the background after Billy gets vapour actioned to death. The infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in the S.M.C. Cartage Company garage, Chicago 1929. * The first film to feature the stop-motion animation of Dave Allen, which was the only praise (among the make-up) by most critics. * The only film Michael Rae has ever directed. * This was the debut film for composers Richard Band and Joel Goldsmith (son of Jerry Goldsmith). * Makeup artist Steve Neill plays the alien who is killed in the opening scene. * Keenan Wynn's scenes were shot in one day. * An early promotional article on the film misspelled the title "Laser Blast", whereas the films official title is spelled as one word. * Steve Neill, who was makeup artist on the film, also designed and created the alien ray gun and the pendant. * The music from this was lifted and used in Season 1's Robot Holocaust. * On a rather grim note, both actors who played the lead characters are deceased: Kim Milford (Billy) died of heart failure following open-heart surgery in 1988; Cheryl Smith (Cathy) passed away in 2002 from hepatitis and liver failure due to long-term heroin use. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Against Mike's will, Crow and Tom present the subtile nuances of The Thunderdome Joke. Segment One: Dr. F’s funding has been cut (he had funding?), so he disconnects the Umbilicus, setting the SOL loose. He's moving out of Deep 13 with help from Pearl. Gypsy and Tom manage to fix the ship so they have thrusters, but no control. They drift out of Earth's orbit and begin to head into deep space. Segment Two: The SOL is visited by Monad, an annoying robot relative of Nomad. He is taunted and confused by the SOL crew, and so Mike is able to boot Monad out of the airlock with no problem. Segment Three: The SOL hits a field of star babies - and one of them needs a diaper change. Mike plays Ground Control ala Apollo 13 as Servo and Crow go out into space to get the little...er, big one taken care of. Segment Four: With the SOL heading toward a black hole, Mike takes charge the only way he can: he becomes Captain Kathryn Janeway. It works, but it ends in a very weird manner. Segment Five: The SOL reaches the edge of the universe and the crew transform themselves into noncorporeal beings of pure energy or something, and it's fun. In Deep 13, Dr. F becomes unstuck in time, has a revelation and is reborn in a sequence that pays tribute to the final sequence in 2001, right down to the broken goblet. Pearl rejoices at her second chance to raise him right, but Dr. F's only response? "Oh, poopie." Stinger: The freaky hippie dude says, "Faaar out!" Other Notes Guest Stars *''Monad (voice): Jim Mallon *''Old Dr. Forrester: Jack Beaulieu Miscellanea *Trace Beaulieu's final appearance as Dr. Clayton Forrester and Crow T. Robot. * The Final Episode of the Comedy Central era. At the time this episode was made, no one knew if the show would be picked up by any other network, so it was designed to be the final episode of the series if necessary. * The final host segment was a tribute to 2001: A Space Odyssey. * At the beginning, Dr. Forrester said that Leonard Maltin gave the movie 2 1/2 stars. During the movie's closing credits, Mike and the 'bots looked up other movies in his book that had worse ratings than Laserblast. Marathon Man, Hannah And Her Sisters, and ''Unforgiven'''' were among those who had a worse or an equal rating.'' Obscure References *''"Norelco's secret plan for world domination! Even its name spells 'Merry Christmas'!"'' A reference to a Christmas-themed commercial for Norelco electric shavers, in which Santa was shown flying on an electric razor while the letters in "NORELCO" started disappearing to form "NOEL". *''He woke up Ram Dass!'' Ram Dass, or Baba Ram Dass, is a spiritual teacher who bears a resemblance to the white haired old man. *''"Hush Hush" "Sweet Charlotte!"'' Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte was a thriller 1964 American thriller film directed and produced by Robert Aldrich, and starring Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, and Agnes Moorehead. It was nomniated for seven oscars. *''"You ever notice how Haile Selassie is God?"'' Haile Selassie was the last emperor of Ethiopia, and is believed to have been Christ incarnate by Rastafarians. *''"'Sister Mary Elephant' is funny!"'' "Sister Mary Elephant" was a comedy routine by Cheech and Chong. *''"Roxy!'"'' Said in a whiny, nasally voice as the film looks out over an arid desert locale, this is a callback to Eegah. *''"Suddenly I long for a Hal Needham film..."'' Hal Needham is the guilty party responsible for Smokey & The Bandit, Hooper, and Cannonball Run. *''"Wow, Albert Belle did cork his bat!"'' Surly former professional baseball player Albert Belle received a seven-game suspension in 1994 for using a corked bat while playing for the Cleveland Indians. *''"Get your motor running ... head out on the highway..." First verse of the Steppenwolf song "Born To Be Wild". *"When you crank Don't Fear the Reaper..."'' Don't Fear the Reaper is a song by Blue Oyster Cult. It's not really the kind of song you crank. *''"And a dog named Boo..."'' Me and You and a Dog Named Boo was the debut single for Lobo , hitting #5 on the Billboard chart in 1971. *''"Another Buddhist monk..."'' In 1963, as a protest during the Buddhist Crisis in Vietnam, a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc immolated himself with gasoline on a street in Saigon near the Presidential palace. AP journalist Malcolm Browne took a now-famous photo of the event. Other acts of self-immolation would follow. *''"It's Rover from 'The Prisoner'!"'' On the cult classic 1960s British TV series The Prisoner, Rover was an orb-like entity that hunted and intercepted people who tried to escape from the Village. *''"I am the lizard king!"'' A line from a song by the 1960s pop group The Doors . *''"Englebert Humperdinck on a personal journey."'' Englebert Humperdinck is a British soft-pop singer who rose to fame in the 1960s & 1970s *''"If I built a fortress around your heart..."'' A quote from the Sting song "Fortress Around Your Heart". *''"Ecuadorian bat boy found alive in cave!"'' A reference to an infamous Weekly World News headline. Callbacks *''"Robert Ginty was a better kisser!"'' Most likely a reference to earlier episode Warrior of the Lost World, which starred Ginty. At the end, Joel and the bots made fun of his sloppy kiss with the female lead. *"Leave the Bronx..." Reference to Escape 2000. *''"Eegah..."'' Reference to Eegah. 'Trivia ' *In the game Borderlands, available for the PS3, XBOX360, and PC, there is an achievement/trophy that is called "Can't We Get BEYOND Thunderdome?" A callback to the infamous joke. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 7 Category:70s Movie Category:Robots Category:Movies that got good reception Category:Star Trek spoofs